ABSTRACT
There have been heated debates across Africa regarding what language one should write in. This is so because decades after the formal end of colonisation, African countries continue to use English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and Spanish as both school and official languages. Using Desk Research, this chapter reflects on the deficiency of reading and writing in African indigenous languages, while foregrounding the question of the imaginary. It further exemplifies pertinent issues inherent in the language-in-education policy of African multilingual countries, where European languages have dominated. The chapter argues that as a consequence of the imposed Eurocentric educational norms, an overwhelming number of Africans can neither read nor write in their indigenous language(s), thus stripping them of their representations, identity, culture, heritage and especially the imaginary. Furthermore, despite the discrepancies in the language-in-education policy across Africa, the countries continue to underutilise indigenous languages in formal education, which lead to a shrinking reading and writing culture in indigenous languages. Due to the incapacitation of indigenous languages, which have been underpinned by Eurocentric knowledge systems, the epitome for expression of specific representations, worldviews, experiences, thoughts, ideas, culture and particularly the imaginary of many indigenous African communities is under threat.
